A Petaluma man accused of racially motivated vandalism against a Black woman in Novato last year has been convicted of a hate crime, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Robert Lynn Thorne III, then 39, was arrested in October after an incident at the Novato Fair Shopping Center. The victim told police that Thorne, who is White, used racial slurs against her, spat on her car and kicked a door on the vehicle twice. The damage, which included scratched paint, was estimated at $1,000.
A jury convicted Thorne of a misdemeanor hate crime on March 29, the district attorney’s office said. He was sentenced to 80 days in jail, placed on probation for a year and ordered to perform 15 hours of volunteer work.Source: www.mercurynews.com